Secrets in Travel booking

​I have worked as a travel advisor for over 45 years and still learn new things every day. But some things have not changed over the years, just the technology how to book.
It has become both easier and more difficult for travellers to book their travels.
Very easier as there are a number of booking channels online.
But harder than, you can't control what you really buy. Maybe I'm a little one-eyed, but the fact is that you always benefit from booking with a travel agency or personal travel advisor.
Here  are  some of the benefits.

​​How can you access secret prices for flights and hotels or other means of transport?

Today, many try to find the cheapest prices on flights, trains, hotels, rental cars and transfers themselves.

It is believed that the lowest prices you have found are the best.

Unfortunately, in most cases, you pay more than necessary.

How come?

Flights.

The airlines have many prices, and you choose to show only the prices you want to sell yourself on their website.

The airlines have agreements with travel agencies that can sell many of these tickets cheaper, are directly with the airlines.

Package prices are only available at the travel agency or tour operator, and you will not know what the price is then the prices  are with restrictions that they must be sold together with hotels, rental car, train or other travel product.

You can book your tickets with Sky-Tours with confidence as they have trained travel advisers that you can talk to if you can't find what you are looking for online

Prices can be 20-30% cheaper than the corresponding ticket on the airline's website

The agreement also states that travel agencies must not advertise with prices lower than the airline themselves.

The large online agencies have these prices in their system that come up automatically if you are looking for flights and hotels at the same time.

There are also tickets that the On-Line agencies cannot handle, e.g. Lufthansa from Luleå. Skellefteå or other airports with connection Arlanda

You can buy those tickets even if you spend the night in Stockholm on the road. For example, the last flight in the evening that connects with a morning plan to your destination.

Then you also get a discount on the overnight at Arlanda

There are volume prices or net prices that many call the price.

Volume prices are usually lower than the prices of the airlines, but at these prices, the travel agencies put on a higher surcharge if the customer only buys an airline ticket.

Volume prices have only travel agencies that have large volumes access to.

Special prices such as seaman's ticket, connection flight, sports ticket, event ticket you can get from the airline if you contact them on the phone or a physical travel agency.

These tickets apply under certain conditions and have other rules.​

Hotels.

Today you can search hotels in many different ways on hotel booking sites such as Booking.com, use price comparison sites such as trivago.com, book directly on the hotel's website,
Contact the hotel directly or contact a travel agency/personal travel adviser.

The hotel booking sites show the hotels that give the most commission first.

Booking.com apparently has a rule that the hotel is not allowed to sell the room cheaper to the end customer than the price that is on their side.

The hotels can have combinations, e.g. book 3 nights so .... And it is a set by this.

There are package prices that in some cases can be 40% below the normal price, but they can only be sold through a travel agency and in connection with transport. (Flight, rental car, train, boat or other means of transport) 

The same thing here as with the flight, you must not advertise about the hotel price only but only in connection with packages.

There are also volume prices such as travel agencies, but especially tour operators have. You get these prices if you book hotels with the travel agency.

Online sites that are also a tour operator gives you as a customer access to these prices. For example. Sky-tours, that also have trained travel agents, which has many years of experience that you can talk to if you can't find what you are looking for online.
 
If you always live in the same hotel you can sometimes get a better price for direct contact, but if you book through travel advisers and give that information, they also monitor your extra discount as well.

In addition, there are usually 2 prices when you book it, one is not refundable and cheaper and the other is cancellable (with some restrictions sometimes).

See some example here.

All prices are from 2023-01-05.   
Notice prices can change.
​But there is big money to save
Most hotels are cheaper than Booking.com

Keep in mind that a cancellation insurance costs 7% so that the discount is larger is 7% you can book non-refundable,
So you have insured if you get sick and can't go.

​When it comes to trains, rental car, transfers, cruises etc., the picture is the same travel agency or your personal travel adviser has prices you cannot find online.

But since the volume of these is not so great, you have to ask your travel agency.


When it comes to groups, there are also always prices, and then you have no alternative but to contact your travel agency or your personal travel adviser.

If you do not have a personal travel adviser, you are happy to contact and get to know me.